


Probably Should Have Seen That Coming

by a_solitary_marshmallow



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Creepy Mansion, Cryptids, Spider Webs, Spiders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23869840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_solitary_marshmallow/pseuds/a_solitary_marshmallow
Summary: Roman is a YouTuber exploring a cool, creepy haunted house. Which happens to be the home of some mysterious creatures. He probably should have thought this through.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	Probably Should Have Seen That Coming

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I like to live on the edge with very little editing. Wrote this all in one stream of consciousness and had a lot of fun doing so! Let me know what you think :)

Roman paused in his trekking to fish a pebble from his boot. As stylish as his footwear was, tall and gleaming with shiny buckles, they probably weren’t the best choice for venturing into the forest. But his viewers expected style, as he presented in all his videos, so he happily put up with the occasional annoyance. He recommenced his walk through the trees and lifted his camera up to his shoulder to get a good view of the golden autumn-hued forest around him.

“Goooood morning my lovely viewers! As you can probably tell, today is no makeup tutorial! We’re leaving the mascara at home, because I recently got wind of an exciting new place to explore. That’s right – I’m going on another adventure!” He swung the camera around to wink at the audience. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”

Roman stepped over a low-lying log and centered the camera on his face before continuing brightly, “As you all know, I’m currently holidaying in this quaint little town, and a few days ago a couple local children told me about a spooky mansion through the forest. Apparently no one goes there, and there’s plenty of ghost stories to go around! I wonder if I’ll find any princely souvenirs.” Roman scanned the horizon ahead, but the regularity of trees and bushes continued on as far as he could see. “So I thought I’d take you all for a little look! I’m heading north-west as we speak, and I should be coming across something… now!”

Nothing ahead. Well, he could edit it. Roman hummed to himself as he traversed piles of orange leaf litter and damp, crumbling logs. The air out here smelled like damp wood and earth after the rain, and Roman inhaled great breaths of it. Maybe it was his romantic side talking, but the air always smelled sweeter out in the countryside. He should holiday more often. It would make for exciting content, too – his viewers deserved only the best.

The ground turned harder under his feet, and Roman paused. He scraped away bits of leaf litter with his boot and found instead of loose earth, the packed dirt of a once-travelled path. His breathing quickened with excitement as he followed the path, occasionally trailing off it and having to find it again, searching through decades old covering of vegetation. His eyes were fixed on the ground, so he didn’t notice the structure looming until he was close enough to see its broken windows, shards of glass hanging from swollen frames like teeth in a broken maw. Roman let out a squeal of excitement and lifted his camera to give a good view of the ancient, sagging mansion.

“There it is! The kids I spoke to called it the Sanders estate. Gosh, it really does look like a ghost house.”

The building sprawled in what had once been a large clearing, now overtaken by trees and bushes and vines that crawled up the walls of the massive mansion. Only a few of the stained-glass windows were still intact – most of the others had cracked or shattered. The huge double doors groaned slightly agape, but there was a heavy chain and lock preventing them from opening fully.

Roman stepped forward, admiring the majesty of what had once been a fabulous structure. Through the vegetation clinging to the low wall around it, he could see hints of patterns in the stone. The windows that remained were stained in all colours in kaleidoscopic patterns that must have painted an inside floor like a rainbow, when the sun was at the right angle. Now it lay empty and alone, silent as the grave and half-swallowed by the forest it resided in.

“Wow.” Roman breathed. “I was half expecting it to be a joke! Come on, let’s go check it out.”

Roman rushed up the path and through the rusted remains of wrought-iron gate that now sagged on their hinges. In this little area that could have been a garden, flowers sprouted from every nook and cranny and littered the area, some almost choked by the approaching forest. Roman spun in a slow circle to take it all in, before inspecting the heavy chains on the door.

“Locked, huh? This is positively ancient. I wonder…” Balancing his camera in one hand, Roman pulled out his Swiss army knife and scraped at the rotted wood around it. It was old and water-logged, and it crumbled apart to reveal – ugh, termites. He brushed away their squirming white bodies and kept patiently working at the door. No wonder it was frail.

After some time, the chains were loose enough for Roman to pull them out of the doors and let them groan open. Light flooded in around his silhouette to pool across a dusty wooden floor, an ancient but expensive-looking antique coat stand and a dim entryway further inside. Roman let out another happy squeal.

“Okay! We stand at the threshold of the unknown. Let’s go make it known!”

He stepped forward onto groaning floors. A glimmer of light caught his eye, and Roman glanced up to where a positively marvelous chandelier dangled overhead – it was dusty and unlit and absolutely covered in spider webs, but even so its delicate metal curves and cut crystals gleamed.

Even more exciting sights waited for Roman the further he explored, using his phone screen for light. He was lucky this camera had a night-vision setting or his viewers would be seeing dark blurs with Roman’s commentary. He passed through a drawing room, a sitting room with rotted couches and silver serving trays bearing dusty glasses – and excitingly, a grand piano resting on a slight stage. Who had played this instrument, decades ago? It was covered in a thick layer of dust now. Roman brushed off the seat before sitting and holding his hands over the keys. Was it still in tune?

He pressed down on a key, and heard nothing. Roman frowned and tried another one. This one made sound, the note reverberating through the old house like birdsong. This place had acoustics, all right. Lifting the top of the piano revealed that the inner workings were all in place, but were half gummed-up with spider web and rot.

“Do you guys wanna hear a song?” Roman questioned his camera. “The ambiance is one-of-a-kind. Hang of a sec, I just have to find something to clean out these cobwebs with. I’m certainly not risking my manicure.”

Hmm, the kitchen aught to contain some tools he could use. From his copious study (binging Downton Abbey) the kitchen was most likely to be downstairs. Roman passed a grand staircase on his little adventure – but there was plenty of time to explore that later. From somewhere behind him there was a jarring bang – the top of the old piano must have fallen down. He hoped nothing was broken. That would really spoil the mood.

Roman finally located the kitchen and began fishing around for a large stick maybe, something lean he could use to get rid of webs.

He found what he was looking for in the form of a mostly-preserved soup ladle hanging up on the wall, and had just grabbed it when he heard a creak from above.

Roman froze.

“Did you guys hear that?” Wait, his viewers couldn’t respond, they hadn’t even seen the video yet. Roman held his breath and listened hard, but the sound didn’t come again, and he let out a sight. “Old houses and their creaks. Okay, back to the piano.”

As Roman crossed the threshold out of the kitchen, a faint tickle touched the top of his head. He reached up and found dust sifting from above him. That was weird. He shrugged it off and hurried back to the sitting room with his prize in hand.

“Okay! Now, let’s make some music.” Roman bounced up to the stage – and that was odd, he could have sworn he’d heard the lid slam shut, but it was still up where he’d left it. Maybe the wind had knocked something else over. Roman placed his camera down on the seat and leaned over to start extracting cobwebs from around the delicate workings of the instrument. A few tiny black spiders scurried away as he worked. He would have thought that they’d scatter, but they crawled over each other in their haste to disappear over the lid of the piano, like a mass of ants with one mission. Roman hummed curiously. He didn’t know that spiders were herd-animals. More dust trickle down and he waved it away from his face as he finished clearing away webs.

“Finally!” Roman sat back on the seat and turned to grin at the camera. “This is a little original piece I’ve been working on.”

He brought his hands down on the keys with a blast of sound, and behind him there was a strangled screech and a thump.

Roman jolted out of his chair. On the opposite side of the room there was a mass, and as he watched it twisted and scrabbled back into the darkness.

“Who’s there?” Roman’s voice crackled with panic. He grabbed his phone and turned its light on the shape, which let out a hiss. There were legs, too many legs, and as Roman stared those legs dug into the wall and the creature blurred up with the clicking of armoured limbs on wood. Roman tried to follow it with his light but it was so fast, scampering across the roof like a demented insect. Roman grabbed his camera and bolted.

He shot from the sitting room and collided with a figure – one that was large and solid and furry, and let out a yowl as Roman slammed into it. He screamed and jolted away, only to trip and hit the floor, camera and phone skittering across the ground. The shape loomed above him – Roman could see glints of teeth, black claws, flattened ears and piercing blue eyes through the darkness. It leaned down towards him and Roman screeched and kicked out wildly, catching something soft. There was a pained yelp. Roman scrambled to his feet and bolted the other way. There was another exit from the sitting room, right? To the kitchen area. Roman gasped for breath as he tore a hallway, rebounding off the wall in his haste to turn a corner. Hissing sounded behind him.

Run. Run. Where was his camera? It didn’t matter, just run. Roman skidded into another room. In the dark, the furniture was too indistinct to identify. Where was the exit?

He recognised this area. Roman ran down a hallway – nope, wrong way – the other one, bolted through a sticky cloud of spider webs and finally, finally, there was the entrance way with its gleaming crystal chandelier and light spilling in through the door. Roman ran for it.

His feet hit dirt and he stumbled out into the blinding Autumn sunlight, wheezing for breath. The mansion behind him was eerily silent. But whatever it was that lived there was right there. Roman bit down on a sob and hurried down the path, back towards town. Where was the town anyway? South-east? His phone had acted as his compass.

Just as Roman was frantically trying to remember his navigational skills, there was a booming from above him. He lurched back with a shriek as a thing dropped down in front of him with a thud and the sweep of wings – big black wings, like fucking MOTHMAN. Roman didn’t see any more, because the world spun around him and, like the Disney princesses he idolized, he fainted dead away.

“-do with him?”

“We certainly can’t allow him to leave. He has seen us.”

“Come on, Lo. Maybe he’ll think it was a dream?”

“The recorded proof would beg to differ.”

“Oh, right. Did you see where it went? Maybe we can delete the footage.”

“I have it.” A third, gravelly voice mumbled. “Ugh, why did he have to come here?   
Or play that damn thing so loud?”

“You were startled, Virge. It’s not your fault he saw you.” The higher voice soothed. “Does anyone know how to work one of these recording devices?”

There was a long silence.

“I might try it.” The stiff voice said. There was some clicking and shuffling, a flap of sails or wings. The voice hummed in thought. “They have certainly developed these things. The last time I saw one, it was much larger. I wonder how they have compacted the design like this. I would like to keep this specimen for examination.”

“He’ll be looking for it.” The gravelly voice groaned. “We have to give it back – after we delete the footage, anyway.”

Roman yawned.

There was a startled skittering around him, which made him frown. His bed was cold, and dusty – why was he lying on top of the sheets, anyway? He felt around for his pillow and found a very large, ornate, and unfamiliar bedhead. This wasn’t his room. Which meant the voices weren’t his podcast.

Roman bolted upright. There was a hiss, a clatter and a crunch underfoot. He looked around frantically in the dim light – he was in what looked like an old bedroom, flopped on a four-poster bed with three indistinct shapes gathered around him, twitching and flinching back now that he was awake. His heart hammered in his chest.

“Well, that’s one way to do it.” The higher voice said. And now that Roman’s eyes were open, he could see the person it belonged to. A – not quite a person, wearing overalls with gleaming fangs and canine ears pricked in curiosity, eyes gleaming an inhuman blue. He lifted clawed hands in a placating gesture. “Okay, so-”

Roman screamed.

The other two figures – one tall and pale with huge black eyes and massive wings folded against his back, the other hunched over with way too many limbs twitching around him – jumped at the shriek. For the wolf-man’s credit, he didn’t appear startled. His ears lowered non-threateningly.

“Are you finished?”

Roman wanted to petulantly say ‘no’. But that probably wouldn’t get him anywhere, so he nodded quickly instead. The fanged monster beamed.

“Great! Sorry to startle you, kiddo. You can call me Patton.”

“What are you doing?” The spidery-creature hissed. “Don’t introduce yourself!”

“Well he looks scared!” Patton protested.

“Good!”

They continued to bicker, as Roman looked between them like a rather terrified tennis observer. The third creature cleared its throat with a flutter of wings – less like moth wings, he could see now, but thickly feathered, like those of a bird. An owl? His eyes were very large and very black as they observed Roman. He cleared his throat.

“Greetings. Since we are doing introductions, you may call me Logan.”

Roman let out a little frightened whine. The third creature – smaller than the other two, with dripping mandibles and a cluster of gleaming eyes and far too many spider-like legs, groaned.

“Ugh, whatever. I’m Virgil.”

“And you are?” Patton prompted. Roman curled up with his knees to his chest, dimly wondering if he was tripping. There were mushrooms in the forest, right? Could you get high without eating them? Maybe by breathing in enough spores? This place was mildewy enough for him to have breathed in lots of spores.

“Err – Roman.”

Patton grinned at him with very sharp teeth. “It’s nice to meet you, Roman.”

“I… wish I could say the same, but I must admit I’m… very confused.” Roman managed. Patton nodded sympathetically.

“You must be. I bet it’s strange waking up in a new place surrounded by strangers.”

“It is.” Roman agreed. The spider – Virgil – grumbled.

“Strange? It’s our house.”

At Roman’s stare, Logan elaborated, “We live in this mansion. You unknowingly trespassed in our home.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Roman said faintly. “I’ll just be on my way then. Did any of you gentlemen happened to see where I dropped my things?”

Logan glanced down at his feet, where a camera sat crumpled with a foot-shaped dent in the middle. Roman’s mouth dropped open.

“You startled me.” Logan defended, before turning. “Virgil, you found the recorder. Did you see the light source as well?”

“Um, I think so.” Virgil muttered. He backed away from the bed before turning to scurry away. Roman squeaked as all those limbs disappeared around the doorway.

“So, about that leaving.” Patton winced, and Roman began to have a very bad feeling. Patton’s eyes flung open wide. “Oh, it’s okay, no need for that face! You can go. I just need you to make a promise, first.”

“A promise?” Roman echoed. Patton nodded while Logan watched passively.

“Yeah. I need you to promise to not tell anyone about us. You can kind of see why we’re a big secret, right?”

Roman nodded frantically. “Yes, I won’t tell anyone. Not a soul. My lips are sealed.” To demonstrate, he pretended to zip up his lips and Patton’s ears lowered in confusion. Okay, maybe cool it with the gestures around a wolfman. “Your secret is safe with me.”

With a series of clicks, Virgil slunk back into the room, something clasped in his hands. Roman swung his legs over the side of the bed, and just managed to catch his phone as Virgil tossed it at him.

“Light’s off. I think it’s broken.” The monster mumbled. It didn’t look broken – at least, the screen wasn’t cracked. Roman frowned and clicked the on button, and the screen lit up. All three creatures jumped. That in turn made him jump.

“Er, no, not broken.” Roman said warily.

“How does it work?” Logan leaned in with a fascinated stare.

“I press the button?” Roman demonstrated, turning the screen off and on again. Logan looked mesmerized. “It’s my phone.”

“I thought phones were bigger.” Patton lifted his hands to demonstrate. “They’re connected to wires, and you can talk to people through them.”

“Well, yeah, old ones.” Roman felt like he was in a dream. “With the new ones you can still talk to people. And play games and stuff. Listen to music…”

“All of that from one tiny box?” Logan breathed. “If you have time, I would love to learn more about it. It has been… some time, since I ventured into the outside world.”

Well, this might as well happen. Roman unlocked his phone and scrolled between pages, showing Logan the clusters of apps. “So these are all the applications. They do different things.”

“Oh!” Patton jumped up with an excited yelp that made Roman jump. “I’ll get our guest something to eat. Oh this is so exciting.” He darted off as Roman began explaining touchscreens, and then Wi-Fi. After a few more questions, Roman found himself stumped.

“Uh – okay. How about I come back tomorrow with a PowerPoint?”

“I do not know what this ‘power point’ is, but I am intrigued.” Logan admitted. “Please do. It is wonderful to learn more of the outside world. Before you go, will you please show me what these ‘applications’ do? What is this colourful one?”

“Oh, it’s Candy Crush.”

Roman spent more time in that mansion than he would admit. After some scares with suddenly-blaring music that made Virgil cling to the ceiling, and almost an hour of playing with the voice-recorder app and Patton making all kinds of sounds Roman didn’t know he could make, he found he was almost… having fun. Like, yeah, everything was weird and kinda fucked-up, but if Roman was anything, he was adaptable. And brave. Handsome, too, and dashing, princely…

He was almost reluctant to go home. As he hesitated at the door Patton grinned at him, and Virgil sighed.

“Look, we’ll still be here tomorrow, flesh-mortal. Scram.”

“Come back soon!” Patton added brightly.

So Roman left.

He spent most of his evening doing research and putting together a power point – and then decided that if he was going to do this, he should do it right, and bought a huge bag of snack foods that those poor unfortunate souls hadn’t had the chance of tasting before. He dutifully kept his promise to keep the secret, but when he tried writing down the day’s events in his diary – his hand wouldn’t move. He tried to remember the names but they hovered just out of his grasp. Only when he gave up trying to write it did everything come back to him.

So, no talking or writing about it. That was probably for the best, to keep his strange new friends safe. Roman was already planning to extend his holiday. He wondered if Logan would be open to setting up an email account. Roman was just dying to introduce them to Instagram.


End file.
